


Aurora, the Roaring Bloom

by lafemmedisparu



Category: Orlando Bloom - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Orlando Bloom - Freeform, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 03:24:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4044034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lafemmedisparu/pseuds/lafemmedisparu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The tale of Aurora Bloom is one filled with love, life, death and heartbreak. As the eldest daughter of an ill-fated rock star and a talented actor, Aurora has to grow up amid the spotlight she barely understands and hardly wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birth in Bloom

It was a stormy day in early April when a baby girl took her first breath and filled the over-charged air of the delivery room with her triumphant cry of arrival. There was a collective sigh of relief and awe. Life had just burst into the room. And it was a healthy, five-pound, eight-ounce bundle of life.

“It’s a girl,” announced Doctor Elaine Henderson. “But we’ve still got the next one. Come on, Del. You can do it. Just push.”

The mother took in a breath and gritted her teeth as the father provided a hand to hold and encouraging words. A storm calmed outside, but it was background, unimportant to what was going on in this room at this moment. More life arrived, in the form of a six-pound, three-ounce baby boy.

The parents huddled together, happy, tired, and proud. Laine passed the baby off to a British nurse who cleaned and dressed the babies while she finished the birthing process. The nurse, knowing the doctor’s relationship to the tired mother and the pleased father, passed the baby girl to Laine first after the baby was cleaned and wrapped in a pink blanket. She cleaned the baby boy and put him directly in his father’s arms.

“Here we go,” Laine murmured as she walked to her little sister with her niece in her arms. “Now the little ones get to see their mommy and daddy.”

Adelaide Henderson, better known as Della, felt tears in her eyes as she accepted her child from her older sister. All feelings of fatigue were burned away, overshadowed by an immense wave of love. Laine stepped away to allow the father to get a good look at his baby girl. They locked eyes. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead for giving him the ultimate gift.

“What are we going to name them?” Orlando Bloom asked softly.

Della stared down at her little girl’s relaxed face. She had her mother’s nose. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

Orlando thought for a moment. They had talked about names, but had never settled on one. They had agreed that they would choose upon the children’s birth. Looking down at his daughter, he said the first name that came to mind.

“Rosalind,” Orlando responded. “From  _As You Like It_.”

No doubt that he would pick a Shakespearean character for inspiration for a name since his own name was the name of a Shakespearean character. Della liked the name. However, before she spoke, the sun broke out from behind dark, stormy clouds, and filled the room with golden light. Suddenly, Della smiled with her own inspiration.

“Aurora,” Della supplied. “For the goddess of the dawn.”

Something clicked in Orlando’s brain. Yes, Aurora and Rosalind would be perfect names. But what combination of them?

“Aurora Rosalind,” Orlando declared suddenly. “Aurora Rosalind Bloom.”

Della’s smile turned into a full-out grin. “Perfect.”

As if feeling like he was being neglected, the little bundle in Orlando’s arms began to cry in earnest. They looked at each other again.

“Got any ideas for this little lad?” Orlando asked.

Della considered this a moment. “Orlando Junior?”

“This is not the time to mess me about, love,” Orlando told her, and she pursed her lips to keep from laughing.

* * *

A few moments later, the weary group of Margaret Larkin, Nicholas Barton, Monique Johnson, Itazura Satsu, and Penelope Henderson crowded in the window of the nursery, clamoring to get a look of the Bloom twins.

“Where the bloody hell are they?” demanded Nick. “I want to see them.”

“Shut up,” Monique snapped, slapping him on the arm. “This is a hospital, dammit.”

Nick grumbled and didn’t say anything.

A few moments later, two nurses appeared behind the glass with two newborns. Itazura gasped loudly as they were placed in their beds. She pointed at them as the nurses placed a placard on the front of their beds. Aurora Rosalind Bloom. August Rutherford Bloom. The group began to ooh and aww over the Bloom twins.

“Look at them!” Monique exclaimed in awe. “They’re so cute!”

“Who do you think they look like?” Itazura asked.

“Aurora looks like Della, I think,” Margo said. “August looks like a cross in between.”

On the other side of the glass, Aurora opened her mouth and started crying. August just opened his mouth and yawned. He opened his eyes and blinked. The group awed again.

“Brown eyes,” Megami commented. “They’re probably going to look like Orlando a little. Very exotic.”

“They’re going be beautiful,” Nick said.

Monique hit him again. “You idiot. They are beautiful.”

As Nick complained, Penny watched her new niece and nephew closely. A nurse consoled Aurora and she quieted. August just shifted and went off to sleep.

“All I can say is that this is going to be an interesting adventure,” Penny remarked. And she was quite right.


	2. Christmas in Bloom

**Chapter One**   
_Christmas in Bloom_

_Four years and eight months later. December 24. The Bloom House. Canterbury, England._

She was so excited she couldn’t sit down. The house was abuzz with Christmas cheer, with the warmth of hot chocolate and fresh sugar cookies and the comfort of loved ones and good conversation, but she was looking outside at the snowy landscape, willing time to hurry. Hurry—hurry and bring her daddy home.

Behind her, her twin was playing with his building blocks. Once he got a construction good and high, he’d swipe at it like a wrecking ball with a giggle and a squeal. “Again, again,” he’d say to himself and then start building. He didn’t seem insulted that his usual playmate was looking out the window.

Rosalind Bloom walked into the living room and observed the scene. The twins’ mother was on the couch nearby with some of her family and friends. One of them—Nicholas Barton, Rosalind guessed—came over to little August Rutherford Bloom and helped him build a skyscraper. She frowned when she didn’t find her granddaughter next to her grandson.

It didn’t take her long to locate her. Four-year-old (four and three quarters Aurora would hasten to add) Aurora Rosalind Bloom was perched on her knees in the chair near the window facing the front yard, eagerly watching for any change in the expanse of white.

Rosalind placed the fresh sugar cookies on the coffee table before walking over to the window. She laid a hand on Aurora’s shoulder and was rewarded with a bright-eyed, yet distracted, smile. She couldn’t help returning it, and lifted her eyes to the window. Snow fell softly, but there was no change yet.

“Are you waiting for Daddy to get home, too, Nana?” Aurora asked.

Rosalind’s lips curved upward. “Yes I am, sweetheart,” she replied. “I’m sure he’ll be home soon. They have to be really careful because of the snow, so it might be a little longer than we thought.”

Aurora nodded and accepted that explanation. After all, Daddy always came home when he promised he would. This time would be no different, right?

“But he will come home,” Rosalind promised Aurora, as if she could read her granddaughter’s mind. It wasn’t a hard task; the four-year-old was an extremely focused individual. Very much like her father.

It was scary the way the two of them were alike. Gus had inherited his father’s sense of adventure while Aurora had gotten his determination and innate stubbornness. Aurora was definitely Daddy’s Little Girl, but Rosalind was inclined to believe that the distinction would cause trouble later on in life. Especially since stubbornness only got worse as one aged. She knew from experience as being Orlando Bloom’s mother.

Rosalind dropped a kiss on her granddaughter’s forehead and decided to allow her to wait in relative peace alone for her father to come home. As she shifted away from the window to check on Aurora’s mother, Gus started giggling as he and Nick acted like a two-man demolition team. Rosalind smiled faintly, stepped around them, and sat down on the couch next to Adelaide Henderson.

She was growing to like the young woman. Even though Rosalind had been less than happy at first when her son had informed her that he was going to be a father out of wedlock, over the course of five years, the disappointment and anger had diminished.

Della looked up at Rosalind wearily and smiled. “I appreciate you coming here for Christmas, Rosalind. Orlando and I weren’t sure you would make it.”

“And miss all of this?” Rosalind made an expansive gesture with her hands, including the sounds of laughter from Gus and Nick, the chatter from Della’s sisters and friends, and the Christmas music playing on low in the background of it all.

Della had to laugh. “Well, I guess you have a point.” She shifted a bit to make herself more comfortable. “It would be a tragic holiday without happiness and home.” She glanced at Gus, playing with her bandmate. The jubilance in her son’s eyes made her smile faintly. Then her eyes fell on Aurora, sitting near the window. Her heart lurched, and she felt touched and sad all at the same time. Yeah, I miss him, too, sweetheart, she said silently. And hoped that wherever he was, he was safe and thinking of them, too.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a car slowly and steadily coming toward the Bloom house, twenty-five-year-old Penelope Henderson turned the windshield wipers up again and sighed.

The car was mostly quiet, save for the sound of the radio playing Top 40 hits, the hum of the heat on the highest setting, and the drumming of Orlando Bloom’s fingertips on the dashboard. Irritated at the noise, Penny cocked an eyebrow, glanced at him balefully, and the drumming stopped.

“Sorry, love,” Orlando apologized, sheepish. “I guess I’m a little over-anxious.”

Sympathetic and sensing his impatience, Penny remarked, “I understand you want to go home, Bloom. You haven’t been home in months, and this whole trip has been nothing but dreadful on the both of us. I would do a spread in Playboy if it would get me a decent cup of coffee right now.”

Orlando’s eyebrows arched. “Not that that’s much of a stretch, Pen, since you did one last year.”

The dark-haired model grinned as she tapped the brakes lightly. “Oh yeah. I did, didn’t I?” She paused. “And I’m guessing you got a look at them.”

A smile tugged at his mouth. “A passing glance. Nothing more, love. Though, I do have to tell you that Elijah Wood is your new biggest fan.”

Penny laughed, cornflower blue eyes twinkling with mirth. “How flattering is that? Frodo Baggins is my biggest fan! Wait till I tell Della. She’ll get a kick out of that.”

Orlando’s wistful sigh was audible over the hum of the heater. “She’ll find that utterly hilarious.”

“Aw shit, Bloom,” Penny groaned. “Didn’t we talk about this? No gloominess on the ride home, remember? The last thing we need is one of us jumping out the window and committing suicide from the sheer dreariness of it all.” When Orlando didn’t speak, she continued. “You miss Aurora and Gus and Della.”

The simple truth of the statement had him swallowing hard. “The last time I saw my baby girl, she was blowing out all four of her candles. Gus had been giggling too much and couldn’t catch his breath so she did it for them both.” He chuckled, thinking of his lively son and strong-minded daughter. The possibility of gathering them up into a big hug when finally he got home was the only thing that kept him from—how did Penny put it?—jumping out the window and committing suicide from the sheer dreariness of it all.

Penny shook her head. “Time flies when you’re making movies, doesn’t it?”

Perhaps that was part of the problem. “Maybe I should quit,” Orlando murmured.

Penny was so stunned that she almost lost control of the steering wheel. Of course, given the conditions, it didn’t take much. “You crazy Brit. Are you nuts? Della would skin you alive. You know how much you doing what you love means to her. Just as much as you want her to pursue her music. What would make you want to do that?”

“I just hate the fact that I can’t boast to the world that my daughter and son are the most amazing children alive. What kind of father does that make me?”

“A damn smart one,” Penny told him. “Orlando, if I had a child, much less two, I would do exactly what you and Della are doing. Besides, it’s not like anyone has come out and asked you if you have kids. And technically you’re single because you’re not married.”

“Maybe it’s about time that changed, too.”

Penny exhaled heavily and flicked the volume dial. She loved this song, knew it by heart. It was unfortunate life could not be the same way. “Changes, changes, changes.” She glanced at him, all she could spare at the moment. “You sure you’re ready for that, Bloom?”

“It’s a challenge I’m ready to face head on,” Orlando said. Penny looked dubious. “What, you don’t believe me, love?”

“Believe it when I see it, Bloom. Believe it when I see it.” She joined in singing along with the song on the radio, breaking the contemplative silence between them. _“Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there, with open arms and open eyes, yeah…”_  she sang softly.

Orlando felt the same way. Tomorrow would come. And he would embrace it, along with his children.

* * *  
It was nearly four a.m. when Della’s head rose from the pillow. Her eyes were gritty and her head seemed no less heavy than it had been at midnight when Nick and Rosalind had forced her into bed.

It was a strange awareness that woke her up. It was like the time she’d caught her brother going through her Jolly Rancher stash when she was ten. She felt someone in the room with her—and that was what had woken her up.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. It took a moment before she made out the shadow in front of the window.

Her eyes widened. She knew that body…

“Orlando?” she said aloud, voice still scratchy from sleep.

The shadow silently moved closer, onto the bed. In the twilight she saw his tired but twinkling brown eyes and the dazzling white of his impish grin. Before she could say another word, he placed his lips on hers and brought her close.

After he had indulged in a welcome-home kiss, she pushed him away a little. She opened her mouth to speak but his hand on her belly made her eyes water. She forgot what she was going to say as he replaced his hand with his head, his ear on the top bend of her bloated abdomen. He, too, was overwhelmed at the feeling of the life growing inside Della’s body at that moment—the life they had created together.

“I’m sorry it took so long, love,” he murmured, sounding sleepy.

Della shook her head vigorously, overcome with emotion. “It’s okay. All that matters is that you’re home now.”

Feeling at peace, Orlando remembered his talk with Penny earlier and began to speak. He wanted so badly to share with her what he thought. But she shushed him. And shushed him again when he began to protest. Finally, he decided to give up and succumb to the fatigue he had been fighting for hours.

She ran her fingertips through his thick, long dark hair. It had grown since they had last seen each other about seven months ago. They said nothing more to each other, enveloped in the balming silence that lulled them both to a peaceful slumber.  
* * *

Orlando made sure he woke up first. He knew that Della had spent the better part of the night before worrying about him because of the paleness of her skin in the morning light and let her sleep a little longer.

It was nearly nine o’clock when Orlando padded out of his and Della’s bedroom on Christmas morning. The house felt still as if everyone was still in bed. Not that he blamed them, though. Long trips often tired him out, too. So he bypassed the guest bedrooms and went downstairs to the kitchen.

The smell of sizzling bacon and scrambled eggs awakened a sense of awareness much like the one Della had experienced earlier that morning. With his lips curving at the sound of the familiar humming, he stepped into the doorway of the kitchen and waited for recognition.

His mother was standing at the stove. Behind her on the counter was a platter of bacon, sausage, and pancakes. In another bowl there was fruit salad sitting beside another platter of hash browns. There seemed enough food to feed an army.

When made that particular remark to his mother’s back, she whirled around, almost dropping the spatula she was holding. Her hazel green eyes lit up with happiness as she gathered her only son, her only child, in her arms. It was a minute before she let him go. He wasn’t surprised to see the tears in her eyes as she turned back to the bacon on the stove top.

“It feels good to be home, Mum,” Orlando remarked simply.

Rosalind looked at him again, her hazel-green eyes misty. “It’s good to have you home, love.” And she reached out and touched his cheek, just to make sure he was really there. “The best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”

Before Rosalind could finish the sentence adequately, a little voice exclaimed, “Daddy!”

Orlando whirled around as a dark-haired blur attached itself to his legs. His heart warmed over as he knelt down and those little arms came around his neck. He indulged himself in her unconditional love for a few moments as his mother watched, eyes filling. When those little arms loosened, he got a good look at the face his daughter had inherited from him and her mother.

“You’re home,” Aurora said, excitedly, and as if she still couldn’t believe it.

“I am,” Orlando confirmed. Meanwhile, the smell of food had awakened everyone else. Heart in her throat, Rosalind left Orlando and Aurora alone so she could tell everyone about breakfast.

Orlando lifted her up and stood with her in his arms, much to her delight. Gus’s familiar laugh could be heard from down the hall, and he couldn’t wait to hug him, too. Maybe give him a noogie. He turned to her, a conspiring gleam in his eye. It was mirrored in hers.

“How about we go open our Christmas presents?” Orlando suggested. “And then we can go make snow people and bury Gus and Nick in snowballs. What do you say?”

Aurora’s response to that was giddy, enthused…and loud.

“That’s my girl,” Orlando said proudly. And just for the hell of it, he hugged her again.


	3. Discovery in Bloom

**Chapter Two**   
_Discovery in Bloom_

_February 5. The Bloom House. Canterbury, England_.

The first time Aurora saw  _The Lord of the Rings_ , it was during this life-changing fourth year. Because of her pregnancy, Della had been taking a break from touring with her, Margo, and Nick’s music group True Dawn to reconnect with her children. At the moment, she was playing innocent bystander on yet another Penelope Henderson shopping spree. Orlando had been spending time with them before he began shooting another movie, and Aurora was still coping with the understanding of her father’s fame.

For some odd reason, Aurora understood her mother’s fame better. Not that it was any more or any less than Orlando’s; it seemed that Della’s fame was more accessible. Aurora heard her mother’s music all the time, even in her sleep sometimes. There was a picture in Della’s music room of Aurora at twenty-three months sitting behind Cousin Margo’s drum set, brandishing drumsticks and clad in only a pamper and a happy grin. But Orlando…he almost never brought his work home with him. Aurora, being so young, didn’t understand, but did not understand this enough to vocalize it. Aurora and Gus had never seen any of his movies, so the concept of Daddy going off to work made no sense.

So on this rainy day while they were in the playroom during one of Della’s absences, Aurora decided to ask.

“Daddy?” she asked. Orlando had been building a house with Gus. Aurora had been picking at Legos distractedly. Orlando looked at her, the eyes that she inherited from him staring at her. “How come we don’t see your movies?”

“‘Cause Mummy said!” declared Gus, who was more intent on his Lego roof than the conversation. Orlando was not surprised by the answer since he and Della had discussed it at length.

“Why did Mummy say, Daddy?” Aurora pressed.

Orlando frowned at this, trying to figure out how in the world he didn’t see this one coming, then smiled gently. “She was afraid that they might scare you and give you bad dreams. And Mummy doesn’t want to cause any harm to either of you.”

Aurora blinked, and tilted her head. “Daddy, why would you make scary movies?”

Orlando nearly choked at the question. Children and their questions. “Ah, well…” Seeing no other way out of this than to bail, Orlando scooped up the twins and took them to the living room, abandoning the construction project. “Let’s go watch some movies then.”

The first movie they watched that day was The Fellowship of the Ring. Gus fell asleep during the first hour. But Aurora…she was so overwhelmed. Her brown eyes were wide during most of the film. She wanted to take everything in, no matter if there seemed to be absolutely too much. Orlando watched her, and wondered how the movie seemed to her, through. When Legolas came on-screen for the first time, she gasped.

“Daddy…daddy, is that you?” Aurora asked, taking her eyes off of the screen only to look at him.

“Yes, love,” he said gently. Her astonishment and wonder, alive on her face in that moment, suddenly made him appreciate the work he did even more. “That’s me.”

She frowned at him. “Your hair used to be that color?” She looked back at the screen. “And your eyes. They’re different, too.” She peered at him again. “Why are they different, Daddy?”

Orlando laughed and pulled her close. She liked that, but she wasn’t about to admit it aloud. “Because the character looks like that. That’s really not me, exactly. I’m playing a character, and when you play a character, sometimes you have to change what you look like.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. Sometimes you have to wear different hair and different eyes. A lot of times, you have to wear different clothes, too.”

Aurora nodded, taking this all into her head. It was all so new to her. It wasn’t like the music her mother made. There was more of a magic surrounding the process. Another question popped into her brain. “Why are there so many characters?”

Orlando brushed a curling lock of black hair away from his daughter’s face. “Because people like to make them up.” He glanced at Gus sleeping nearby, then at the clock on the wall. “And it’s past time for your nap, love.” Despite Aurora’s fighting it, a yawn escaped. Orlando kissed her on the forehead before standing with her in his arms. She snuggled into his arms and closed her eyes. Orlando gazed down at her and figured it would just save more energy if he sat back down. And sitting back down, he figured, Hey, it wouldn’t hurt if I rested my eyes, too.

When Della came home some time later, she walked into the peaceful living room to see the father of her children sleeping on the couch with their twins. The movie still played in the background, making her eyebrows arch. She headed toward the couch, intent on joining her little family of sorts.

She slipped out of her flat-heeled shoes, wanting so badly to be comfortable after the news she had just gotten, and padded over the hardwood in bare feet. Orlando, who was breathing deeply and softly, barely stirred when she sat beside him. She shook him a little, careful not to wake Aurora nestled in the crook of his arm. He mumbled something and she guessed he was conscious.

“Watching a movie?” Della asked softly.

Orlando had not escaped the throes of sleep enough to catch the undertone of meaning in her voice. “Mm. Yeah. The twins wanted to see one of my movies.”

“And you picked this one?”

Uh oh. Awake enough now to sense that he may be in trouble from her terse tone of voice, Orlando cleared his throat, trying to give himself time to come up with an answer. “Well, um…”

“Yes?” Della said testily. “I’m waiting.”

“Well, Della love, it was sort of an accident…”

A sleepy little voice spoke up and had them both on alert. “Mummy, is Daddy in trouble?”

Della looked at her daughter with softened eyes. “No, sweetheart. He…”

“He wasn’t supposed to show us the movie, was he?”

She was so shrewd it had Della stumbling over her words. “Not exactly. I just…” She met Orlando’s brown-eyed gaze with her blue ones. “I just wish that Daddy had talked it over with me first.” Her eyes softened when he looked sheepishly at her. She sighed. She was such a sucker for those eyes. “But I’m not mad at him.” She turned to Aurora, and added wryly, “As you will learn, Aurora sweetheart, it’s hard to stay mad at Daddy.”

Aurora’s eyebrows came together thoughtfully. “Really? Why?”

Della’s lips curved before she could stop them. “Because Daddy’s too cute to stay mad at forever.”

Orlando made a show of gallantly placing a hand over his heart. “I know. It’s a gift.”

Della shoved him playfully as Aurora giggled. “Ha, ha, Mr. Bloom.” She glanced over at Gus sleeping. Her heart tugged at the sight of him. Her little man. So sweet. Her good mood diminished when she remembered the doctor’s appointment and the news the doctor gave her. “Aurora darling, could you do Mummy a favor? My purse is on the hall table. Could you get it for me?”

Aurora slipped away from Orlando and bounded out of the room. Della missed those days. They would come again. She couldn’t wait until she could run and move without being hampered by her swollen belly. But at the moment, the swollen belly was an issue. She shifted on the couch and turned to Orlando, eyes serious. He could sense the change in her and sat up, brown eyes filled with worry.

“Look Della, I really didn’t mean to—”

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Relax. It’s not about the movie.” She brought her eyes to his, and the first layer of unhappiness leaked through. “I went to the doctor today.”

It was Orlando’s turn to be frustrated. “So there was never a shopping trip with Penny?” Della shook her head in shame. She hated lying to him. “And when were you going to tell me about this?” he demanded.

“I’m telling you now,” Della responded, feeling the greasy roll of fear and nerves in her stomach. Or that could have been the turkey sandwich she’d tried to choke down earlier. She inhaled and tried to be softer. “I didn’t want to worry you, Orlando. I know you’ve been worrying about me too much.”

“Of course I’m worrying about you. You’re the woman I love. And you’re having my baby. How can I not worry about you?” Della nodded absently, grazing her belly with her fingertips. “Now tell me what the doctor told you.” He reached out and took her hand. “I can tell it wasn’t good news.”

“Not the very best,” Della admitted. “The doctor told me that I have something called preeclampsia. That’s why I was getting the pains I thought was heartburn. Apparently, I have high blood pressure induced by the pregnancy.” She looked at him sadly. “I’ll probably have to have a cesarean.” She looked at the television as the credits rolled. “And if my blood pressure gets too high, then they’ll have to take her out early.”

“Oh love…” He pulled her close to him, taking in her scent and softness. She placed her head on his shoulder, enjoying the comfort. Those frayed nerves were being soothed. She realized that she loved him, loved him and their little family. That on her mind, she made a quick, hasty decision.

“We should get married,” Della remarked in a matter-of-fact tone.

Orlando frowned. They had talked about it already. But there was something different in her voice this time. “You mean…now?” he asked haltingly.

Amused at his astonished expression, Della placed a hand on his cheek. “Yes. Now. Right now.”

There was a pause. The whoop Orlando let out scared Gus awake and had Aurora rushing back into the living room. She had found her mother’s purse. Gus sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Della held out her arms for him as Orlando danced around the room.

“What’s going on?” Gus asked.

Orlando paused to ruffle his son’s messy head. “We’re getting married, mate!” Then he whooped again, making Della, Gus, and Aurora laugh. Then Orlando paused again and planted a kiss full on Della’s lips.

Yes, Aurora had learned two things that day: her father got to dress up as different people for a living. And he was totally and completely bonkers.


	4. Morning in Bloom

**Chapter Three**   
_Morning in Bloom_

_February 15. The Bloom House. Canterbury, England._

Aurora had always been the crafty one of the pair. So it came to no surprise to Orlando when Gus and Aurora had decided to join him and Della in bed one morning that it was Aurora’s idea.

The air had been still before the twins’ arrival. As he climbed up from the depths of slumber, he felt a hand slide down his chest to his navel. As it hovered teasingly above the waistband of his boxers, a smile curved his lips.

“I would think you would have a little mercy for me,” Orlando murmured as his blood hummed.

Della laughed, low and mischievously. “I just love torturing you. I can’t help it.” She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Before she could escape, he pulled her close to deepen the kiss. Before she could pull away, Orlando had brought her atop him. She smirked as his exploring hands scaled her thighs.

“I think this is how we got this one,” Della remarked, blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Oh really?” Orlando feigned an innocent expression. “I really wasn’t sure how that happened. It seems so long ago.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” She glanced worriedly at their closed door, then peered down into his sleepy, aroused brown eyes. “They could come in any second.”

Orlando traced a curve of her lace underwear with his thumb, starting an old, familiar ache. “I promise you, love, it won’t take long.”

Della threw back her head and laughed. With her mother’s ears, she could hear the patter of little footsteps coming down the hall. She allowed one little indulgence for her husband, trying her hardest to keep it short. The will of the gods might have been hell bent on torture—and embarrassment.

As she figured, a minute passed, and then her daughter’s voice came from behind the door. “Mummy? Daddy?”

Orlando cursed under his breath and had Della swallowing a giggle. As deftly as she could, Della slid off of her husband and grabbed for her robe. Orlando settled back into the pillows and groaned. He muttered something about having children and no sex life.

Della opened the door with a flourish. The twins raced past her and jumped onto their parents’ bed, jostling Orlando. Della turned as squeals of laughter filled their bedroom. You wouldn’t guess by just looking at him that the man was sexually frustrated.

“Uncle, uncle!” Gus cried, trying to escape the onslaught of his father’s tickling hands.

“What was that?” Orlando asked, pretending that he couldn’t hear very well. “Did you say…uncle?”

Gus giggled harder as Orlando tickled him more. Della climbed back onto bed, and Aurora leaned into her. She smiled and placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. Yes, she didn’t regret hurrying off and marrying Orlando in secret one bit. But she suddenly sighed, worrying over the phone call she was going to have to make to Audrey. Her cousin was currently in charge of her image, and at the moment, the image Audrey had carefully constructed was one of a single mother with twins and one on the way, unknown father AWOL.

Orlando, who had been watching her like a hawk (much to her dismay) over the past ten days, paused suddenly and stared at her as if she was set to pass the baby right then.

She caught him staring. “What?” she demanded.

Orlando didn’t blink. “You sighed.”

“Bloody hell,” Della swore, borrowing one of his curses and forgetting for a moment that little ears were listening. She caught herself and apologized profusely, telling them not to ever repeat what Mummy had just said.

“Okay, Mummy,” Gus and Aurora promised in perfect accord.

She gazed at her husband, fighting for patience. She loved him and understood his concern, considering the fact that her health and the baby’s were at stake. But it was about to drive her batty.

“Look, I was just thinking about the fact that I’m going to have to talk to Audrey about this,” Della told him. “As much as I would love to keep this a secret, the world is going to find out that you and I got married.”

“I know,” Orlando said. “And I’m prepared to handle it.” He reached across, took her hand. “We can handle this together. It’s not quite the way we planned things, but…we can make it work. And then the world can know about my little warrior”—he tickled Gus again—“and my little roaring Bloom.”

Aurora tilted her head up at her mother. “Why does Daddy call me that, Mummy?”

Orlando, amused, and Della, exasperated, shared a knowing look, then Orlando laughed. Gus and Aurora gazed at them puzzledly.

“You had colic as a baby,” Orlando told her. He looked down at Gus, who was staring at him with rapt attention, for a second before looking back at Aurora. “I remember the night your mum called me. She was on the verge of pulling her hair out.”

Della glared at him. “I was not,” she insisted.

Orlando smirked at the twins. “Well, I’ll just tell the story and you two can be the judge.”

**FLASHBACK. About four years and eight months ago. Della’s apartment in New York.**

_It wasn’t an easy acclimation from being pregnant to becoming a mother to two newborns. August was the serene one of the pair, while Aurora seemed to cry enough for the two of them. Della made this known to Orlando on his nightly calls._

_“She cries all the time?” Orlando asked in sleepy disbelief. He wanted to sleep, but he had been determined to check on his family first. Unfortunately, it seemed to only cause him more anxiety._

_“Not all the time, but a lot,” Della explained. It was the afternoon in New York; where Orlando was it was early morning. “It’s quite frustrating. Burping her doesn’t help. It usually takes me hours to calm her down, and Nick has to take Gus out walking while Aurora calms down.”_

_“Maybe you should take her to the doctor,” Orlando suggested._

_“We have an appointment on Thursday,” Della told him. “Hopefully we can get some answers then.”_

_“It may be colic, love.”_

_Della winced. “Oh bloody hell. Please don’t let it be colic.”_

_* * *_

_Much to Della’s dismay, it was colic._

_One day, while Aurora was sleeping, Della put her head in her hands and sighed. Monique had returned to California to resume her coursework at a California university despite her wishes to stay in New York. Itazura stayed behind. Margo and Nick were in Chicago at the moment, talking with one of Nick’s music producer friends about the True Dawn album. That weighed on Della’s mind, but not as much as her daughter’s colic._

_Unfortunately, there was one particularly heinous night a week after the doctor’s appointment. Itazura had taken Gus out on a walk again to make sure he got some sleep. And Aurora had continued her wailing, well into the night. Della paced, rocked, swayed, sang. Nothing helped. She prayed for some sort of mercy from something, someone. Her nerves were on edge, and in one more minute, her sanity was going to plunge headlong to its demise._

_And then, as if her prayers were being answered, the doorknob twitched as if someone was trying to unlock the door. Della froze, foggy mind racing. Did Itazura forget something? No, she would have called. Was someone trying to break in? God, she hoped not. But then again, a screaming newborn might be a better deterrent than mace._

_Della took a sharply indrawn breath as the door swung open. Then she held it as a familiar but tired face loomed into view._

_Orlando dropped his bags by the door and barely remembered to close and lock the door. He took in the expression of pure distress on Della’s pale face and Aurora’s flushed one. He crossed the room quickly and gently took his screaming daughter from her mother. Della remembered to exhale as she listened in disbelief to Orlando’s soothing murmurs._

_“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, but there was no heat in it._

_Because he understood her astonishment, Orlando answered, “I decided to come home for a couple of days. You need help, love.” Della sighed, weariness crashing down upon her as her sanity was saved once again. She opened her mouth to speak, but Orlando spoke first. “Go lie down for a little while, Della. I’ll try to get her quiet.”_

_But it was still hard to let go of the fight before it was complete. “But Orlando—”_

_“Adelaide,” Orlando began in a warning tone that left no room for disagreement. Della nearly pouted. He never called her Adelaide unless he was annoyed with her. She took that as a sign she should back down and do as she was told._

_Two hours later, when she woke up in her own bed, in the dark, something seemed strange. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out what was different._

_When it hit her, she raced out of the room and down the hall to the nursery. And could only pause in the doorway and watch, misty-eyed._

_Orlando sat in the rocking chair, a pillow supporting his neck, Aurora on his chest. She was quiet. She was in the throes of sleep, looking like a little dark-haired angel just like her sleeping brother in the opposite crib. He must have been dozing lightly, because when Della tiptoed over to the chair, he grinned a bit._

_“I told you I could do it,” he muttered, eyes still closed._

_Della rolled her eyes. “Bravo, Bloom,” she said dryly. “Say, do you do housework as an encore?”_

_He snorted softly. “You’ve got to be jesting.” When Della’s expression indicated that she wasn’t, Orlando groaned. “Can’t a bloke get a couple of days of rest—?”_

_Della laughed softly. “I was jesting. Put Aurora down and come to bed.”_

_“Yes, ma’am.” Orlando touched Aurora’s tiny knuckles with a fingertip. “She’s so beautiful, isn’t she Della? Such a darling little one.” His lips curved in a proud smile. “My little Roaring Bloom.”_

_Della didn’t say anything, just watched as Orlando rose and gently placed Aurora in her crib. He watched her for a moment, then turned to her mother and led her to the bedroom. What happened next—well, we don’t want to describe that for little ears, now do we?_

_* * *_

“And that’s how Aurora got the nickname the Roaring Bloom,” Orlando finished for his enraptured twins.

“Because she’s loud, Daddy?” Gus asked.

“Hey!” Aurora cried defensively. “That’s not fair. I am not loud.”

Gus rolled over and sat up. “You are, too, Aurora. You’re like a tiger when you’re mad.” He growled for effect.

Aurora’s brown eyes flashed over, making Orlando laugh. Yes, she was going to be a firecracker in the coming years, causing more worry than peace.

“Maybe it’s time for breakfast,” Della broke in. She leveled impish eyes at her husband. “And it’s Daddy’s turn to make it.”

As the twins threw themselves at their father with their breakfast requests, Orlando narrowed his eyes at Della. She just smirked at him, feigning innocence as he did earlier. Yes, the mornings weren’t so bad at the Bloom house. They were the comfort of a hectic life, set to only get crazier and crazier.


	5. Newborn in Bloom

**Chapter Four**   
_Newborn in Bloom_

_February 20. London. At a hospital._

Aurora didn’t want a new baby sister.

She stared at herself in the reflective surface of the glass, frowning. The freckles she had feared had not made their speckled march across her face, but her black hair had fallen out of the pigtails her mother had put up that morning before their trek to the hospital. But she didn’t care very much. As her eyes focused on a writhing bundle of life on the other side of the glass, her mind was fixated on the problem at hand: Ariel Rosemary Bloom.

Around her, grown-ups milled across the linoleum, speaking to each other in jargon that sounded like a foreign language to her. She could hear Aunt Margo murmuring into a phone, Uncle Nick singing a song to a sleepy Gus. She heard a sniffle but didn’t think anything of it. It was a hospital, and as she learned from Aunt Pen, there were sick people everywhere in a hospital.

On the other side of the glass, little Ariel Rosemary flailed her arms and legs. She took in the room with her hours-old blue eyes. When those little eyes met Aurora’s, Aurora leaned in, fingertips on the window. They stared at each other for a moment until Ariel yawned.

She wanted to badly to see her mother. Around noon, Nana Rosalind had rushed into the playroom, talking quickly. Aurora instantly had known her mother was having the baby. That had been hours ago, and since she and Gus had only seen their mother once. She had been hooked up to various machines, with her hand firmly clutching her husband’s. Aurora now remembered her pale face, filled with wan happiness as her children gave her hugs and kisses before the stern-faced doctor said they had to leave. That ghostly smile etched in Aurora’s memory suddenly filled her with unease.

A woman drifted over, her heels clicking on the floor, and stood next to Aurora. Aurora spared her a quick look before staring at her little sister again. She was about her mother’s height with fine blond hair pulled back away from her face and dark eyes of which Aurora could not tell the color. She wore a stylish suit (how did she know? of course she knew it was stylish; she was Penelope Henderson’s eldest niece!) in a hue that reminded her of cinnamon sugar and cinnamon-colored heels. Aurora ignored her, hoping she would go away.

“She’s a beautiful baby,” the woman remarked. She had a melodious voice. But Aurora still wanted her to go away. “Is she your sister?”

Since she wasn’t taught to be impolite, Aurora replied, “Yes. Her name is Ariel.”

“That’s a beautiful name.” When Aurora didn’t agree, the woman continued. “I suppose it’s a little strange being a big sister all of a sudden, isn’t it?” Aurora said nothing. She wasn’t sure that she should. This woman was a stranger. “After all, you’ve been the only girl for all your life.”

 _How did she know that?_ Aurora’s eyebrows came together. How was it that grown-ups knew all sorts of things that kids didn’t? Goodness, was she wearing a sign or something?

“Mummy and Daddy said that it would be the same as always,” Aurora revealed, finding that her astonishment had loosened her mouth.

The woman chuckled. “Take it from me, kid. It’s never the same. But the job does come with its highs and lows. I expect a smart little girl like you would make the best out of things.” Aurora looked up at her, and the woman gave her a warm smile. A yell from down the hall made her smile fade away, and she rolled her eyes. But she worked up another grin for Aurora and patted her on the shoulder in farewell.

“Good luck, kid,” the woman said. “And remember, there’s enough love in the world for all of us.”

With that, she strode away on her cinnamon-colored heels. Aurora considered what she said, frowned upon it. She wasn’t quite sure she got the meaning, but she hoped it wasn’t bad.

* * *

Nearby, Orlando stood watching her, tears in his eyes.

He had known for weeks that she was unhappy about the new baby. Gus had approached it like an adventure, the proverbial mountain climb, skyscraper construction, cave expedition. But Aurora, his sweet eldest daughter, she could see beyond the novelty of it. She saw herself being cast out into the cold as Mummy and Daddy fawned over new baby sister. Right then, Orlando ached to reassure her, but he hadn’t the energy. He barely had the strength to reassure himself that the worst was over because he knew it was yet to come.

Concentrating on crossing the floor to his daughter, Orlando put one foot in front of the other, hands in pockets to keep them from trembling. He stood next to her for a moment, then took a shaky hand from his pocket and placed it on her head. When she looked at him, he saw the change in her eyes because of what she saw in his. He managed a smile for her, but it didn’t meet his eyes. She didn’t smile back; instead, she frowned.

“Daddy?” she started, sounding more uncertain than inquisitive.

He had to swallow hard to make his voice come out normally. “Yes, love?”

Those guileless eyes threatened to break his resolve, but he held steady until… “Can we go see Mummy now?”

A sob clawed its way out of his throat. He swallowed most of it back, but Aurora had heard. Uncertainty came into her eyes, and the awareness that something was horribly wrong. He wished he could take it back, could shield her eyes from what she was about to see, cover her ears against what she was about to hear.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Penny came over at that moment. Aurora glanced at her, brown eyes wide. Orlando saw the measuring look she gave her disheveled aunt, as well as the various stages of change her face endured. There was the confusion, the realization, then the denial.

“Is Mummy okay?” Aurora asked in a pitifully small voice.

Penny’s breath hitched and her cornflower blue eyes swam with tears. Orlando knelt in front of Aurora, as he had many times before, but this time it was different. Aurora knew it.

“Aurora love,” Orlando began in a voice scratchy from tears, “Mummy is not okay. She…” He pursed his lips together until the urge to break down and sob passed. “She’s gone, love. She’s gone to a better place.”

Understanding his meaning, Aurora shook her head. “No,” Aurora said weakly. His already broken heart started breaking again. “No, Daddy. No.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But it’s true. It’s all true. Mummy…Mummy has passed away.”

Aurora started shaking her head more vigorously. “No,” she repeated, voice rising in an echoing crescendo. “No, no, no! It’s not true! Mummy can’t be gone…”

Orlando began crying openly, much to Aurora’s dismay. Filled with despair, Aurora stepped forward and hugged him, burying her wet face in his chest. Orlando hugged her like she was his only lifeline. They stood that way for a long time, a  _tableau vivant_ of melancholy and loss. No one had the heart to move them.

Orlando felt the light touch of Penny’s hand on his shoulder. He stared down at Aurora, who had some of his gray T-shirt fisted in her small hand. But those brown eyes were hidden behind heavy eyelids, and he hoped she was having happy dreams.

Penny offered to take Aurora, but he waved her away silently as he strode down the hall for some privacy. He flipped out his cell phone and pushed one. He hated that he was telling his mother the news over the phone this way, but he had to warn her. He had to tell someone that would understand…

When she answered, Orlando nearly broke again. But he steeled himself. He had to tell her.

“Orlando sweetheart?” Rosalind prompted when he said nothing. “What’s the matter?”

“M—Mum.”  _Dammit, you bleeding wanker! Why can’t you just tell her?_  Pure misery swamped him again and brought another wave of tears with it. He had to say it now, and say it quickly. Like tearing off a Band-Aid. “She’s dead, Mum.”

Judging from the silence, he knew his mother felt like someone had struck her in the chest. He knew the feeling. He still hadn’t quite shaken it off himself.

“Dead?” Rosalind’s voice came out a couple of octaves higher than usual. “How?”

He wiped his nose with the back of his free hand. “She lost too much blood during the c-section. They tried to stabilize her but it didn’t work.” The meaning of it kept hitting him, hitting him mercilessly, and he found himself crying like a child to his own mother.

On the other line, Rosalind struggled for control, knowing that it would do neither one of them good if she broke down now. In a gentle, but firm voice she soothed her grown son until he was calm enough to speak to her.

“What am I going to do, Mum?” Orlando asked her. “Gus…and Aurora…and Ariel…”

She understood his desperation, his defenselessness. She wished, just as he had wished with Aurora, that she could cover his eyes and eyes. Erase the pain. But it was too late. The wound had been inflicted. Now it just needed time to heal.

“I’m on my way,” Rosalind told him.


	6. Mourning in Bloom

**Chapter Five**

_Mourning in Bloom_

 

_February 24. The Bloom House. Canterbury, England_

 

Aurora was starting to worry about her father.

It was strange, to her, the way he was acting. He probably didn’t know that she noticed anything strange at all, particularly while she was coping with the fact that her Mummy was dead. Everyone was somber and hollow-eyed, and no one laughed. No one built houses out of Legos, or watched funny movies. 

Penny, Elizabeth (Della’s big sister), Audrey, Margo, and Nick remained in Canterbury after Della’s funeral, remaining to take care of the family she left behind. Rosalind had put herself personally in charge of caring for the newborn Ariel, taking a leave of absence from work. At the moment, Orlando could only take Ariel in small doses before sadness engulfed him. Aurora watched him hold her once, witnessing the utter agony he experienced looking at her baby sister. She’d overheard a conversation between Aunt Pen and Aunt Lizzie while getting a glass of water one night, and learned that it was because Ariel looked just like her mother. Aurora had yet to see the resemblance. 

Audrey Natalie Larkin, with her California girl blond hair and blue-green eyes, looked like she should be grinning her ass off in a Doublemint commercial, but instead she used her appearance and her talent for charm (and scaring the shit out of people) to be a public relations guru. It was after the memorial service, and Audrey felt raw and full of nerves. Staring at her late cousin’s husband from the doorway of the den, she knew this man was going to need some help. 

With a sigh, she sat down on the ottoman in front of his slumped and black-clad figure and decided that she would have to be straight with him. He would take nothing less. 

She waited until his red eyes glanced up and acknowledged her presence before speaking. 

“The fan response has been overwhelming,” Audrey began. “Both yours and hers. Everyone’s been calling, giving their condolences, wanting to help.” She inhaled for this next part. “But there has been some criticism in the papers over the fact that you two got married in secret and had kids.” She paused. “Not necessarily in that order. That’s most of the cause of the criticism.” 

“And what would you have told us to do, Audrey?” Orlando asked suddenly. It didn’t surprise Audrey that there was an underlying defensiveness in his tone. The pain was still fresh, even for her. She didn’t tell him that it took her fifteen minutes of deep breathing before she could calm herself, rid herself of the anger reading some of the magazines brought her. That was her own business. 

“I’m not quite sure,” Audrey admitted. “I mean, it was mine and Della’s idea to keep your paternity a secret in the first place, not to mention the fact that we had to talk you into it.” 

“And I’ll never regret agreeing for one instant,” Orlando told her. 

“I know.” Wanting to give a little comfort, Audrey reached out and squeezed his hand. His lips twitched, but a smile didn’t completely form. “And I’ve already issued a statement that you would like to be left alone and thanking everyone for their love and concern.” Orlando nodded slowly. “But eventually, they’re going to want the story. The real story. When you’re ready, we’ll tell it.” 

Orlando didn’t speak. Audrey squeezed his hand again, feeling the force of his grief pushing her away. She rose to her feet and walked out slowly. Audrey was so preoccupied that she didn’t notice Aurora hovering by the door, expression solemn. 

But Aurora hardly noticed her either. Her eyes were on her father. 

Rosalind came down the hall at that moment with Ariel. Aurora backed out of the way and escaped Rosalind’s notice. A moment later, after the phone started ringing, Rosalind came rushing out of the room. Aurora took that as her cue to go inside. 

Orlando was holding Ariel, who was sleeping. Aurora came over to the chair and rested her chin on the arm. It was so quiet that the rain’s gentle drumming from outside was the only sound in the room. Aurora liked the silence. 

Just when she thought he hadn’t noticed her, Orlando turned and looked at Aurora. Wanting to be closer, Aurora came around and sat in the chair with her father. Together they stared at Ariel’s sleeping face. She glanced up at him, could see the pain in his eyes. 

“My little baby girl,” Orlando murmured. He fingered Ariel’s cap of dark hair. “Your mum would be so enchanted with you.” He swallowed hard. “I just wish she were here right now to tell me what to do. I have no idea what to do with you, love.” 

Because it was the only thing that felt right, Aurora covered her father’s bigger hand with her own smaller one. They locked eyes. Orlando was so floored by the simple strength in them that he was not able to speak. 

“I’ll help you, Daddy,” she said simply. “I’ll help you with Ariel.” 

Orlando stared at her in disbelief before he brought her to him. She could feel him take in a shuddering breath, his heart thudding against his chest. 

“We’ve got a long road ahead of us,” he murmured. “It’s not going to be easy dealing with your dear old dad.” He said the last part as if he were saying it to himself. “But I don’t know what I would do without you.” 

It was a sobering moment for Aurora. Because at that moment, she realized that her father, capable of the impossible, was not superhuman. She didn’t preen, didn’t feel pride or triumph because she now felt important. Suddenly jealousy didn’t matter. She had a job to do now, and she was going to do her best at it.

 

*              *              *

 

So they adjusted. Orlando had a little bit of time before his next project, so he spent time at home. He witnessed as his eldest daughter cared for her baby sister as if she were her own. Most of the time, Rosalind was there to oversee Aurora’s care of Ariel, but it was remarkable to see the almost five-year-old feed her sister whenever Rosalind allowed. 

Penny, who was also taking a break, visited the Bloom family. She wanted to check up on her nieces and nephew—and their father most of all. 

While Rosalind, the twins and Ariel watched _The Fellowship of the Ring_ one afternoon (it suddenly became Aurora’s favorite movie), Orlando and Penny stood outside the door, far enough away to be considered having a private conversation but close enough to have a good view of the children and their grandmother. 

“So how are you holding up?” Penny asked in a soft voice. 

“As well as can be expected,” Orlando admitted. He glanced at the children, who were still riveted by the film. “It’s still…difficult at times to look at her and see Della’s eyes staring back at me, but it’s getting better.” 

Penny, who also shared her little sister’s eyes, squeezed his shoulder. She understood that by _her_ he meant Ariel. “It’s probably going to haunt her, too, when she grows up.” She sighed. “This is not going to be easy for anybody. But if I know anyone that can handle it, it’s you, Bloom.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she added, “And don’t even think about giving up acting. It’s what you love, and it’s going to get you through this.” 

“I need to devote some time to my family,” Orlando insisted. 

“And you will,” Penny promised. “There are many actors who juggle family life with their careers.” 

“Most of them have partners.” 

Penny gave him one of her patented grins, but it still lacked some spunk. “And you’re lucky, aren’t you, Bloom? You have several.” As Orlando’s eyebrow arched, she ticked them off on her fingers. “Let’s see, you have me, you have Margo, Aud, Liz, Laine, Dora—whenever she gets off tour, Monique, Ita, and your wonderful mother.” 

Orlando merely blinked. “You expect me to pawn my children off to someone while I go make films?” 

Because she was only mildly irritated, she punched him in the shoulder instead of kicking him where she thought he deserved it at the moment. 

“Ouch!” Orlando hissed, grabbing his throbbing shoulder. 

“What was dumbass you are. Do you actually think we would let you do this by yourself? Della was our sister, our friend. And her children are a part of our family.” She softened a bit. “So are you. We Hendersons help out our family. We know you like what you do and would drop it in an instant for them.” She waited until his eyes met hers. “You’re a good father, Orlando. Your kids adore you.” 

Battling with the decision, Orlando said nothing. Meanwhile, in the living room, Aurora let out an excited gasp. Penny and Orlando both turned to the living room as Aurora addressed her baby sister. 

“Look, Ariel!” Aurora exclaimed excitedly, pointing. “Look, sissy! It’s Daddy! Look, Daddy’s on the telly!” 

As Gus and Aurora cheered their daddy on—as Legolas, of course—for near-month-old Ariel’s benefit, a glimmer of something like optimism broke through him. When he brought his eyes up to Penny’s, he could see it mirrored there. 

“You know what? I suppose you’ve got a point there, Pen,” Orlando contended. 

Penny mustered up a grin, and had a lot more spunk this time. “Well, hell, Bloom. I’ve always got a point. It’s just you’ve gotta unclog your ears to hear it.”


	7. Magic in Bloom

**Chapter Six**

_**M** agic in Bloom_

 

_A little over twelve months later._

 

Aurora loved hanging out on set with her father. Since school was out, Orlando treated his twins to a week’s worth of experience on a Hollywood set. Most of that week, Gus accompanied them, while little Ariel remained in Nana Rosalind’s care, as she, at one year old, still had not mastered the art of staying out of the way. But this one time, Gus chose to spend some time with Nick and Margo while they were in the studio recording True Dawn’s fourth album, so Aurora had her father all to herself. 

Well, him and the full cast and crew of the _Pirates of the Caribbean_. But so far no one was complaining. 

Aurora had a slight crush on Johnny Depp, but she wasn’t going to tell anyone. To the five-year-old Aurora, who had no knowledge of _Edward Scissorhands_ or _21 Jump Street_ , saw the dark-haired, dark-eyed actor like another girl would see a cute but kooky uncle of sorts. She didn’t see him as a big star and was not amazed by that part of him. But she was dazzled by his timeless good looks. 

But if there was one other person—beyond her father and Johnny Depp, of course—that she felt close to, it would have to be Keira Knightley, the young woman who played her father’s on-screen love interest. No one could replace her mother though, and she adored Keira like she did one of her aunts. She didn’t regard Keira with any Electra-complex induced jealousy because she was kissing her father on-screen. It was exactly as he had explained to her several months before: they were just playing characters that people liked to make up. 

At the moment, Keira, already in Elizabeth Swann’s wedding gown, was sitting in her trailer, going over the lines for the scene they were about to shoot. Aurora, who knew how to get to Keira’s trailer so well that she could have done it in her sleep, knocked on the door and was overjoyed when she got clearance to enter. 

Keira’s brown eyes lit up when Aurora poked her dark head inside. The smile that spread across the young actress’ face was one of genuine pleasure. Taking that as a sign that she could join Keira, Aurora bounded across the floor that separated her from Keira and was beside her within seconds. Keira seemed amused by her boundless energy. 

Keira ruffled her long, dark hair. That gave Aurora a small thrill. “How’s it going, kid?” she asked. 

“Swimmingly,” Aurora replied. She’d gotten the word from watching Audrey Hepburn in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ with Nana Rosalind. She thought Keira sort of looked like Audrey Hepburn. But that was one of those things she thought and would never say aloud. 

Keira chuckled. “I see you’re here with dear old Dad again. If you stay around here any longer, we’ll have to put you in costume and give you some lines.” 

Aurora frowned. “I don’t think Daddy would let me. He says I have to learn how to make a good poker face before I can be in any movies.” She paused. “What does that mean?” 

“It’s an adult thing,” Keira told her. 

Before Keira could elaborate on what exactly qualified as _an adult thing_ , a brisk knock came on the door of the trailer. 

“Keira?” called a familiar male voice. Keira shared a look with Aurora. And the look in Aurora’s eyes bluntly said, _Oh shit—I’m in trouble!_  

Aurora opened her mouth to speak, but Keira shushed her with a finger over her million-dollar lips. 

“I’ve got a little idea,” Keira whispered with an impish twinkle in her eye. “Just follow my lead.” 

A few moments later, Keira opened the door to the trailer gallantly. Orlando stood at the bottom of the steps in full costume, staring at her. 

“Did you want something?” Keira asked, voice smooth as cream. 

“Yeah. Have you seen Aurora? I stopped to talk to someone for a second and she disappeared. Everyone says they saw her come here.” 

“Oh, Aurora?” Keira waved a nonchalant hand. She started to descend the steps, but slower than usual Orlando noticed. She walked past him then turned. “Who knows where she went. She came in to say hi but I haven’t seen her since.” 

With an arched eyebrow and a knowing look, Orlando searched his co-star’s eyes for any sign of subterfuge. Those pools of brown seemed clear…that is, until something moved under her dress—yes, _under her dress_ —and had Keira fighting to keep a straight face. 

“Is there something going on here that I don’t know about?” Orlando demanded in a low tone. 

Keira cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders in feigned nonchalance. “Of course not. I don’t know why you would think something like that. Why would you think something like that?” she inquired, turning a question onto him. 

But Orlando would not let up. After all, he could be just as, if not more, stubborn than his eldest. “I think you know where Aurora is and you don’t want to tell me.” 

“I would never not tell you something as important as where your daughter is,” Keira insisted with conviction. 

“Oh really?” 

“Yes, really.” 

As Keira stood there, meeting his intense stare with a bland one of her own, a snicker came from under—yes, if you can believe it, _under_ —her dress. He stared at Keira for a moment, then the skirt of her dress. He estimated his daughter’s height, then sighed when realization dawned. 

Shaking his head in consternation and amusement, he knelt on the ground. He gently lifted the hem of Keira’s dress until he spied the telltale pair of white tennis shoes in a children’s size twelve. 

Seeing all he needed to see, Orlando dropped the hem and waited a couple of seconds. After those two seconds had passed, a corner started to rise by itself as if an invisible hand was aiding its ascent. 

An invisible hand…or a sheepish five-year-old. 

“Hi Daddy,” Aurora said softly. 

“Hi Aurora,” Orlando greeted her back in an (deceptively) easy tone. “Could you come out from under Keira’s dress please?” 

Biting her lip, Aurora came out from under Keira’s dress. She braced herself for punishment, opened her mouth to blurt out an apology. 

But then Orlando scooped her up in his arms and hugged her. She relaxed…fractionally. 

“I’m not…in trouble?” Aurora asked hesitantly. 

“Well,” Orlando began in a considering tone, “you did run off and hide under my co-star’s dress without telling me. But then again, I can only attribute this sudden rash of bad behavior the fault”—Orlando shifted Aurora so he could level a look at Keira—“of the adult in this situation.” Keira’s eyebrows raised. “She’s been nothing but a bad influence.” 

“I’ve been a good influence,” Keira insisted. “You’re nothing but a man, Orlando. You wouldn’t understand.” Orlando rolled his eyes. “A girl’s entitled to have a little fun, right?” She grinned at Aurora mischievously. “Wasn’t that just a lot of fun, Aurora?” 

Aurora’s happy grin told no lies. “We should do it again,” she said, much to her father’s chagrin. Then she sighed, feeling sheepish. “Sorry, Daddy.” Before Orlando could speak, Aurora’s sharp eyes caught a familiar face. “Look, Daddy! There’s Johnny! Can I go talk to him?” 

“Oh, alright.” Keira gave him a look. _Sucker._ Orlando looked back. _Yeah, I love her—so what?_ “Just don’t find some way to disappear. I don’t think Johnny can hide you under his hat.” 

Orlando set her on her feet and she went running for Johnny. He and Keira watched as Aurora barreled into Johnny’s legs, earning a good tickling. Aurora’s howling laughter put a smile on her father’s face. 

“She seems like she’s having a lot of fun here,” Keira observed. She turned her brown-eyed gaze onto Orlando. “She needed the break. And you needed to see her happy.” 

“Yeah,” Orlando agreed. “It’s been over a year. I feel like she’s had to grow up a lot faster in this year than I would have ever wanted for her.” A few feet away, Aurora protested laughingly as Johnny deftly took his hand away and missed her low-five. “She may not see it, but she’s sort of like a mother to Ariel.” 

“That’s an awfully big role for a child, isn’t it?” 

Orlando shook his head. “It is, but she’s not going to give it up. You couldn’t tear her away from it.” 

Keira came closer, put a hand on his shoulder. “She only does it because she wants to help you.” 

Orlando sighed. “I know.” He remembered Penny’s words to him. _You’re a good father, Orlando. Your kids adore you._ “And I am eternally grateful for that.” 

“Have you finished planning the twins’ birthday party?” 

Orlando crossed his arms over his chest, glad to be onto happier things. “Oh? Is that a hint that you would like to be invited, Keira?” 

Keira’s eyes flashed with indignation. “Hey! I thought I was invited anyway.” Orlando merely looked at her with a bland stare. “Oh, I see how it is now. I suppose we’re not friends anymore.” 

Orlando feigned confusion. “We were friends?” 

Keira punched him in the shoulder as Johnny, dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, came up with Aurora’s hand in his. Apparently, judging from the fact that Aurora was talking excitedly, Johnny had posed the loaded question, _What’s happening, kid?_  

When Johnny looked at Keira for a moment while Aurora was talking about her Adventure Under Elizabeth Swann’s Wedding Dress (yes, it was just awesome enough to warrant a proper denotation), Keira and Orlando could see the sheer amusement in his brown eyes. 

“So you’re telling me Keira let you hide under her dress?” Johnny asked. After Aurora nodded excitedly, Johnny looked at Keira. “Say, love, is this just a female-only thing?” 

Keira made a face at him. “Very funny. We just wanted to play a trick on Orlando, that’s all. Just trying to get him to loosen up a bit, have a little laugh off it.” 

“It wasn’t funny, Keira,” Orlando reminded her. 

“It was, too. Petty, harmless fun.” 

“Petty, love, but not harmless.” 

Keira just looked at him. After a moment, she batted her eyelashes prettily. He rolled his eyes and shook his head in consternation. 

“Will you be at my birthday party, Uncle Johnny?” Aurora asked. “It’s in a few weeks. Daddy says it’s gonna be really fun.” She leveled a look of infantile irritation at her father. “But he won’t tell me what he’s planning.”

“That’s why they call it a surprise, love,” Orlando reminded her. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” 

He ruffled her dark hair. “I’ll be there with bells on, love. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Aurora frowned. “Why do you need to wear bells, Uncle Johnny? Is that another adult thing?” 

Taken aback, Johnny’s gaze darted from Orlando to Keira as he tried to come up with an answer. Before he could answer, the director called for the actors. The three adults were suddenly in work mode. To Aurora, the transformation was fascinating. It added another layer of magic to the process she had witnessed so far of a making of a movie. 

After the actors in the scene and the crew had taken their positions, Gore Verbanski turned to Aurora with a considering look. 

“Would you like to watch from right here?” he asked her. 

Aurora banked her excitement, trying hard to appear mature for her years. “Sure. I would love to watch.” 

*              *              *

 

Several hours later, when it was time to go home, Orlando, now dressed in his own clothes, came out from his trailer and saw Keira with his daughter again. The twinge of annoyance he thought he’d feel after that morning’s little incident instead turned out to be one of amusement. 

They were kicking a soccer ball and forth, and every so often Keira would pause to show Aurora how to do something. When Keira paused to show her how to bounce the ball off the top of her head, she did so and the two females exchanged high-fives, cheering and hooting. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself. 

And between them, the stunning young actress and the eager little girl, the bonds of friendship formed. Orlando could see it gel, click into place like matching puzzle pieces. It was what Aurora needed, a relationship that wasn’t familial, based on obligation. 

It was like, well, magic.


	8. Rosemary in Bloom

**Chapter Seven**

_Rosemary in Bloom_

 

_April 6. Penny’s House. Chelsea, London, England._

 

 

Aurora wanted badly for her little sister to walk. It had more to do with the fact that she wanted something to show for her endless hours of coaching than wanting a break from picking her up. Though, that would be nice, too. 

Her father was currently working, and because she had to go to school, she and Gus couldn’t be with him.  It was her goal to unveil a walking Ariel when he came home again. Like a woman with a deadline, Aurora worked tirelessly. Well, as much as the capricious one-year-old and schoolwork allowed. 

Because her sister’s children were closer to home, Penny watched them while she ordered Rosalind to take a vacation. Under Orlando’s nose, she waved Rosalind off to a sunny climate where it was likely she’d get rubbed down by a couple of bronzed, well-oiled gods and sigh blissfully over a mixed drink. 

While Aurora played with her little sister in the living room, Penny, as she was in the kitchen making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, exhaled lustily at the mind’s eye image, wishing she could do the same. But she couldn’t at the moment. She turned and looked at Gus, who was standing on the chair next to her with his sandwich. (He’d claimed to be helping her, but how much can help can a five-year-old really be? Honestly!) The five-year-old turned and gazed back with a peanut-butter-and-jellified grin. 

“You’re gonna break some hearts one of these days,” Penny told him, nipping his nose. 

“My son had better be a heartbreaker, or I’m blaming it all on you, Penelope Henderson.” 

The familiar voice had Gus jumping off of the chair before Penny could stop him. She sighed again, watching as Gus bequeathed some of his peanut butter and jelly goodness upon his father. Well, she reasoned silently, as least it was washable. 

“Daddy!” Gus cried in a stage whisper. “You’re home!” 

“Yeah, I am, mate,” Orlando responded, speaking in the same stage whisper as his son. “So why are we whispering?” 

Gus glanced over his shoulder to make sure it was just Aunt Pen in earshot before he turned back to his father. “Well, Sissy’s been acting queer. Like she’s totally bonkers!” 

Orlando’s eyebrows arched. “Bonkers? How?” 

“She’s trying to get Ariel to walk!” Gus exclaimed in the same incredulous tone someone else would say, _She’s trying to get Ariel to moonwalk!_  

Orlando considered this a moment. After he mulled over the new piece of information, he ruffled his son’s curly raven hair and gave him a conspiring grin. “Well, girls are always doing silly stuff.” He caught Penny’s eye over Gus’s head and her expression indicated, since she was of the female species, that she didn’t agree with that sentiment. He tried to keep his grin from turning into a smirk. “Why don’t you go check up on your sisters? Maybe you can give Aurora a few pointers.” He added, with an index finger up, “Wait. Don’t tell your sisters I’m here yet. I want to surprise them.” 

Giddy with the clandestine knowledge of his father’s presence, Gus bounded out of the room. Down the hall, they heard him call for Aurora. Aurora yelled back, sounding mildly irritated. Orlando exhaled and straightened. Perhaps the walking lessons weren’t going so well. 

“They’ve been at it for a couple of hours now,” Penny informed him. “She’s done all of her homework, and it’s been checked.” She reached up into the cabinet in front of her and pulled out two plates as Orlando came over to the counter and leaned up against it. “I’m about to give them lunch. Gus claimed he was helping me and has already downed his sandwich.” 

Orlando couldn’t smother the smirk. “That’s my boy. Can’t carry on my name unless he can wheedle a woman properly.” 

In response, Penny elbowed him in the side. 

“Well, I guess I won’t be asking you to make me a sandwich then.” 

Penny gave him a feral smile. “Not unless you value your life.” 

Penny walked into the dining room with Aurora and Ariel’s lunches. Orlando followed her, making sure to also listen out for sounds of mutiny coming from the living room. He leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He watched her for a moment, marveling at how much she looked like Della. Of course, Della didn’t have Penny’s model carriage or tall, statuesque frame. She had been built like a fairy. A raven-haired, blue-eyed, guitar-playing fairy. 

When Penny looked up into Orlando’s eyes, she saw that he had that glazed look he got whenever his thoughts had strayed to Della. Penny fought a sigh and walked up to him. It took thirty seconds, a punch to the shoulder, and a hasty kiss before his eyes shot back into focus again. 

“What?” Orlando asked. 

Penny shook her head and turned back to the table. “You zoned out again. You were thinking about Della, I could tell.” 

“Bloody hell,” Orlando swore. “Can’t I think about my own bloody wife without you messing me about?” 

“Of course you can,” Penny responded. “That is, if she was alive.” When Orlando opened his mouth to speak, she talked over him. “It’s been a year. I know that doesn’t seem like long enough to you, but Della probably thinks it is.” 

“Oh, and how would you know? It’s not like she bloody came and…” Orlando’s eyebrows furrowed. He saw the flicker in Penny’s eyes, and that stopped him cold. “Penelope Henderson, do you have something to tell me?” 

Penny shrugged. “That depends. Do you really want to hear what you’re afraid to say aloud?” 

Orlando gazed at her with intense brown eyes. A lesser woman would have buckled under his powerful stare, but Penelope Henderson was not just any woman. So she held. 

“Penelope Evangelina…” 

“Oh, don’t take that head of British household tone with me, Bloom,” Penny snapped out. “It was just a dream, that’s all.” She said that as if she were trying to convince herself more than him. “She just told me that she misses everyone and you’re doing a good job so far.” 

Sensing that there was more to tell, Orlando took her by the shoulders. “But?” 

“But you have to start getting out there and dating again,” Penny finished, and shook herself from his grasp. “It isn’t right that you’re alone in a cold bed every night, feeling lonely because you’re pining for the one thing you can’t have.” 

“I don’t need a woman to make me happy, Penny,” Orlando insisted. “I’m quite content with my children and their happiness. Romance isn’t everything.” 

The side of Penny’s mouth curved upward. “Well,” she began, “I don’t think Della wants you to self-service for the rest of your life either. It would be cruel and unusual punishment.” 

Orlando’s head snapped up as he placed Aurora’s napkin on the side of her plate. “Are we talking about sex, Penny?”

The other side of her mouth followed the other one upward. “Is that what we were talking about?” 

“Stop being coy, Penny. Why don’t you just come out and say it? You think I need to get laid, don’t you?” 

“It might improve your attitude,” Penny answered. 

Before Orlando could dignify that with a reply, a shout came from the living room. Both frowning, Penny and Orlando rushed to the living room. Standing in the doorway, they witnessed as an argument was brewing between Gus and Aurora. Meanwhile, Ariel contented herself with untying Gus’s shoelaces while her presence went unnoticed. 

“He is too here Aurora,” Gus was saying. “I just saw him. He’s in the kitchen with Aunt Pen.” 

Orlando sighed inwardly. _Just couldn’t keep it to yourself could you, mate?_ he asked Gus silently. Not that he blamed him, but still. He wanted to surprise his little Roaring Bloom. 

Aurora, her feet spread apart as if she were digging in for the fight and her back to the door, crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re just playing a trick on me again. You’re so mean. It’s not April Fools’ Day anymore, Gus.” 

“I am not!” Gus cried. “Daddy _is_ here!” Noticing Penny and Orlando in the doorway, he paused and blushed, sheepish. Aurora stared at him hard. A millisecond after she saw her father reflected in her twin’s eyes, she felt a hand on her shoulder. A familiar hand. 

Aurora whirled around, brown eyes full of shock. Before she could speak, Ariel looked up from her brother’s loose shoelaces. They brightened with happiness. 

“Da!” she exclaimed jubilantly. Using her older brother, Ariel climbed to her feet and stood on her shaky one-year-old legs. 

Aurora took in a sharp breath. Everyone in the room held their breaths as Ariel took one step. 

And another. And another. And another until she was holding on to the leg of her father’s jeans. 

She looked up at him with her mother’s cornflower blue eyes and said, “Hi!” 

There was a slight pause as everyone comprehended what had just happened. The room collapsed into cheers and clapping. Orlando scooped up his youngest child and smothered her in kisses, which made her giggle. Aurora and Penny jumped up and down while Gus congratulated his little sister. 

Aurora turned and gave her brother a smug look. “See? Told you I could do it.” 

“Only because Daddy’s here,” Gus countered. “She wouldn’t walk to you because she doesn’t like you.” 

Aurora glared and stuck her tongue out at him. Gus mirrored the movement. 

Penny sighed and announced it was time for lunch. She really didn’t want Gus and Aurora killing each other in front of their father. And then to top things off Della would probably come back from the dead and kill her for it. Oh, the perils of being an aunt. 

 

*              *              *

 

Later on that night, Orlando held his youngest daughter in his arms and read her a bedtime story. He could hear Gus’s laugh as he watched his last episode of _Spongebob Squarepants_ before a bath and bed. Aurora helped Penny in the kitchen as they went over spelling words. It was the kind of homey environment that Orlando had missed the last few weeks while filming the second _Pirates_ film. And seeing his daughter take her first steps seemed like a blessing. Looking down at her drooping blue eyes and the fisted hand that rested on his chest, he suddenly felt glad to be home. 

Even after the story was over and she fell asleep, he held her in his arms. _She’s growing so much,_ he marveled silently. The cap of black hair she had been born with now flirted with her small shoulders, curling much like his own. Her features were refining themselves, and her resemblance to her mother became more and more uncanny. 

“Oh Della,” he murmured aloud. “You would be so proud of our little girl.” 

He thought about his conversation he’d had with Penny earlier that day. Was it really so bad to want the presence of a female—a female that was over eighteen? He loved his children. They were his heart and soul. But Penny had struck a nerve with her comment about his loneliness. Work was consuming his life at the moment and his children kept his feet firmly planted on the ground when hordes of screaming fans shouted his name with adoration. Even still, there was something missing. A little part of him that needed to be fulfilled. 

Sighing, he rose from the rocking chair and went to Ariel’s crib. He laid her down gently, relieved when she remained in that blissful state of sleep. After patting her back gently one last time, he left the room. 

Penny’s house was quiet. Orlando realized it was because Aurora and Gus were in bed already. Stopping at a door with a sign that declared, _Aurora’s Room_ , Orlando listened for a moment. All he heard was quiet, and he pushed the door open wide enough for him to see. 

The darkened room was bathed in a dim golden glow. While most girls her age liked pink, Aurora preferred a bolder red, but Penny had offset the passionate color with white and yellow. She slept under a white-and-red-checked comforter, and Orlando decided not to disturb her too much. 

“I’m proud of you, love,” he whispered as if she could hear. He touched her dark wavy hair, taking in her peaceful features. “Daddy loves you. Very much.” 

He lingered a moment, then left the room. When the door closed, Aurora’s eyes opened a crack and she smiled to herself. 

“I love you, too, Daddy,” she murmured, then fell asleep. 

Meanwhile, Orlando did the same in his son’s room, then ventured off to find Penny. 

She found her sitting at her grand piano, a half-full glass of what looked like brandy, playing an old familiar song. He had forgotten that Emma Solinger Henderson had made her all of her daughters had training in the arts, but still jolted him to hear Penny playing. It jolted him even more to hear her sing.

 

 

_Shadows grow so long before my eyes  
_ _And they’re moving across the page  
_ _Suddenly the day turns into night  
_ _Far away from the city_

_But don’t hesitate  
_ _‘Cause your love won’t wait_  

 

Because he couldn’t resist, he spoke and had the pleasure of startling her. “So this is what you do after the kids have gone off to Dreamland?” 

Once she recovered, she smiled and shook her head, still playing. “No, actually, I invite my strapping boyfriends over and have a drug-induced orgy in my bedroom until dawn.” She gazed at him, and had to hold back a laugh at the horrified look in his brown eyes. When he recognized the twinkle in her eyes, the horrified look became one of exasperation. 

“That’s what you get for scaring me,” Penny remarked. She turned back to the piano as Orlando crossed the room and sat on the piano bench beside her. “Ariel sleeping?” 

Orlando nodded, looking down at his hands. “She’s such a happy child.” He looked at Penny, but at the moment all he could see was the side of her head. “I have you to thank for that. You and Mum. You’ve dropped everything to help me out, Pen.” She turned her head to gaze at him, blue eyes inscrutable. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I know you didn’t buy this house just to please yourself.” 

Penny stopped playing and placed her left hand on Orlando’s. “They’re my sister’s children, Orlando. I told you I’d help in every way I could.” She forced a shrug. “Besides, I like working from home anyway. And your mom’s made sacrifices, too.” 

Orlando put in a reminder to thank her again before speaking. “I realize that. But I know why she’s sitting on the beach right now, working on her tan.” He covered the hand that was covering his left one with his right one. “I’m thanking you, Penelope. Could you let me?” 

Penny rolled her eyes, but Orlando could tell she had forced that, too. “Oh, alright. I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” She stared at the piano keys for a long moment. She pressed middle C down idly. Orlando could see the tears pooling in the corner of her eye before she rested her head on his shoulder. She slipped her hand from between his and started to play “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” 

Leaning his head on Penny’s, Orlando closed his eyes and let himself drift on the music. Something in his blood stirred and warmed. The tightening in his gut was as much welcome as it was unexpected. For a moment, he was a man, enjoying the presence of a beautiful woman and lovely music. 

After a few moments, Penny stopped abruptly. And his blood went cold, realizing what could have happened. He cleared his throat and bade his sister-in-law (see, it would have been like incest, then!) good night. 

In Heaven, Adelaide Henderson sighed and shook her head. Her blue eyes were filled with disquietude, but this disquietude was not spawned from jealousy. It was disappointment. 

“Come on, Orlando,” she murmured. “Let it go, would you?” 

“They just need to screw each other’s brains out and get it over with,” said the guy Della had the unfortunate luck of being stuck with since her arrival. He had died body wrestling with two blondes worthy of a Playboy spread—at least that’s what he told Della. She couldn’t have cared less. 

But at the moment, Della didn’t even bother glaring at him. “Oh, Johnny,” she said to herself as she watched Orlando ready for bed. “I love you so much. But you need to love someone else now.”


	9. Remembrance in Bloom

**Chapter Eight**

_Remembrance in Bloom_

 

 _About two and a half years later. London_.

 

One night when they were eating out, Aurora suddenly realized that her brother had a big bad crush on Keira Knightley. 

In the last couple of years, Keira had become a welcome visitor for the little Bloom family. Whenever she had the time, she would come over and play soccer with Aurora and Gus. While Aurora thought she was just the coolest friend she ever had, Gus had suddenly turned coy, and Aurora didn’t know why. But it was quite obvious, if you thought about it. Gus hoarded his food, no matter how much the teachers had beaten it into his head to share, share, share. And now, there he was, trying to give away his eggroll. He _loved_ eggrolls! Yep, he was infatuated with Keira alright. 

As she nibbled on her chicken fried rice, she wondered if her father had a crush on Keira, too. Or maybe he had a crush on Aunt Pen. She didn’t know. Aunt Pen was promoting her new clothing line at the moment, and they didn’t see her as much. But it was the sort of thing that boys did, according to her buddies at school. All the grown-ups paired off and got married and had babies. All of a sudden, she remembered what she wanted to ask her father but had forgotten in the excitement of finding out they were having dinner at their favorite Chinese restaurant with Keira again. 

Orlando at the moment was wiping Ariel’s chin. The toddler gave her father a grin with a complete set of white baby teeth, and he kissed her on the forehead. 

As Orlando went for his drink, Aurora figured it would be the best time for her to ask her question. 

“Daddy?” she asked. 

Orlando looked at her, spoke before bringing the glass to his lips. “Yes, love?” 

“Could I ask you a question?” 

“Well certainly, love,” Orlando assured her after swallowing. “You can ask Daddy any old thing you want.” 

Aurora blinked, not expecting it to be so easy. Apparently, Orlando had no idea what was coming to him. Oh well. “Okay.” She paused. “Where do babies come from?” 

Orlando was so flabbergasted that he spit out the drink he had in his mouth. Luckily, he had turned his head at the last second or he would have sprayed Keira with saliva and sweet tea. A couple of servers craned their heads to see what was going on while some patrons looked on with raised eyebrows. Meanwhile, Gus giggled hysterically at the spit take and Keira nearly choked on her Kung Pao Chicken, trying not to laugh. Ariel played with the fortune cookie she wasn’t supposed to have until she finished her dinner, taking advantage of the diversion to try and figure out how to get it open. 

“Excuse me?” Orlando managed. 

“I asked…” 

Orlando sighed heavily, hand to chest. Were those chest pains? Was he getting ready have a heart attack? “Dear God, please don’t repeat it.” When Aurora’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he added hastily, “No, no! I didn’t mean that! What I meant was—” 

Behind a napkin, a giggle escaped from Keira’s mouth. Mortified, Orlando trained his wide brown eyes upon his youthful, stunning co-star. 

“Are you _laughing_ at me?” Orlando demanded incredulously. 

At that time, Ariel had torn through the cellophane wrapper to get to her coveted fortune cookie. “Cookie!” she declared with such glee that it made Keira grin. 

“I can’t help it,” Keira responded as laughter bubbled over into her words. “You look like she just asked you if she could have a condom.” 

“Condom?” Aurora frowned, having heard a strange word. “What’s that?” 

Orlando looked at Keira exasperatedly. “Keira…?!” 

Keira wiped her lips and threw her napkin near her plate. “Oh alright, mate. Since you’re obviously floundering, I’ll go settle this with our little Aurora here.” 

“But…but…” Orlando sputtered. 

It was too late. Keira was ushering Aurora to the girl’s bathroom so they could “freshen up and talk.” Watching them leave, Orlando sighed and wished he had a stiff drink. Then his eyes strayed to Ariel, who grinned at him while pulverizing the fortune cookie she so badly wanted into dust. 

“Daddy!” Ariel exclaimed joyfully. She picked up a shard of the unfortunate cookie. “Cookie?” 

Yep, a mighty large stiff drink would definitely do the trick.

 

*              *              *

 

Sitting on the counter by the bathroom sink, Aurora listened to Keira as she spoke. As she slowly and succinctly explained, things suddenly made sense. Everything Aurora gleaned from the explanation could be boiled down to one generalization. 

Grown-ups were extremely strange creatures. 

“So why do grown-ups have babies if it hurts to have them?” Aurora asked. 

At the moment, Keira was washing her hands. “Well, just think about it,” Keira answered. “If nobody had any babies, then there would be no people left. Just think what would happen if everyone stopped having babies.” 

Aurora paused to think about this as Keira dried her hands. In her line of reasoning, she realized that eventually she would have to have a baby. She looked down at her flat tummy, wondering how in the world a baby could fit in there. She thought of her mother and how she carried her and Gus. At the same time! She must have been miserable! 

“Can I not have a baby if I want to?” Aurora inquired, starting to feel not-too-keen on the baby business. 

Keira fixed her bangs and pouted slightly at her reflection. “If you want,” she responded, shrugging. She smiled at the little girl with her father’s eyes. “But I think you might change your mind.” 

“Maybe,” Aurora murmured. 

The door opened at that moment and the conversation lulled. Keira reapplied lip gloss in the mirror as the newcomer went into a stall. A few moments later, the woman came out and came to the sink beside Keira. As she washed her hands, Aurora looked up. 

It was a feeling that she had never felt before, this feeling that she knew this woman standing at the sink washing her hands. 

“Alright, kid,” Keira said to Aurora, putting her lip gloss away in her purse. “Ready to go back and terrorize your dad some more?” 

It was the kind of comment that would have had Aurora cheering in agreement, but Aurora wasn’t listening. Her eyes were fixated on the woman’s face as she tried to place her. A memory was buried underneath three years of forgetfulness. As it fought its way to the surface, she gasped. 

“I remember you,” Aurora said breathlessly. 

Keira had her hands under Aurora’s arms about to pick her up and set her on the ground when Aurora spoke. The woman looked up, idly really. But when she spied Aurora staring at her with a combination of awe and awareness, she tilted her head quizzically and stared back at the little girl. 

“What did you say?” the woman asked. 

“I remember you,” Aurora repeated. “From the day my little sister was born. You said she was a beautiful baby.” 

Comprehension alighted in the woman’s dark blue eyes. “Oh yes! I remember you now. How is your little sister doing?” 

“She’s great,” Aurora replied, brightening. “She’s walking now, and she’s almost speaking in complete sentences. She calls me ‘Rora’ because she can’t say my whole name yet.” 

The woman smiled. “See? I told you being a big sister wouldn’t be so bad. I’m sure your mummy and daddy still love you the same, and probably even more." 

Aurora faltered a bit, thinking of her dead mother and how she had died on the day she had talked with that woman. She nodded silently, and the woman spied the pain in her eyes. Keira did, too, and decided it was time to return to dinner. She politely bade the woman goodbye and led the somber Aurora out of the bathroom. 

Once they were seated at the table, Orlando, who now had Ariel in his lap, noted the change in his eldest’s demeanor and frowned at Keira. 

“What happened?” Orlando asked softly as Aurora picked at her chicken fried rice. 

“We ran into some lady Aurora recognized in the bathroom,” Keira answered. Glancing at Aurora, who was arguing over the last eggroll with Gus, she continued. “Apparently, they talked the day Ariel was born.” 

Orlando felt that familiar tightening in his chest that came whenever he thought about that day. “Who was she?” 

Keira shifted in her chair as to get a good look at the women’s bathroom and the area around it. Her eyes swept the room, and found the woman sitting with a dark-skinned woman in all black on the other side of the dining room. 

“That’s her,” Keira said, pointing her out. “The haughty-looking blonde over there.” 

Orlando followed the direction of her finger. He took in the sight of the “haughty-looking blonde” with her female companion. She seemed troubled to Orlando, fending off her friend’s attempts to make her laugh. When she turned her head and lifted her eyes to his, he felt a vague sense of something unknown. They locked eyes for a moment, but then she turned away, almost as if she couldn’t take his gaze. 

Gus tugged his sleeve and got his attention. “Daddy? Can we go get ice cream now?” 

Pushing the woman from his brain, he turned to his son and grinned. “You bet. Who wants a double scoop?” 

“I do!” Keira cried. “I want my fair share of ice cream and I am going to get it.” 

Orlando lifted Ariel and threw some bills down to cover the check and the tip at the same time. “Well, you can get whatever you want, love. ‘Cause you’re paying for it.” 

Keira protested loudly, and they got up from the table and filed out, a laughing facsimile of a family. 

They passed by the blonde, and as she watched them, she understood the pained look in Aurora’s eyes. They had a family alright, in all senses of the word, but there was still someone missing. Someone very missed.

 


End file.
